Given India’s burgeoning trade deficit, it is time for a complete overhaul of India’s trade policy.
Professor Biswajit Dhar, amongst India’s foremost trade economists, speaks to Newsclick on the dangers of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a mega regional Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that is being negotiated amongst 16 countries in the Asia-Pacific. Dhar argues that India has much to lose in the area of manufacturing and agriculture given that it has the highest average tariffs and little export potential. The supposed gains in Information Technology (IT) services are unlikely to be met as well. Given India’s burgeoning trade deficit, he argues that it is time for a complete overhaul of India’s trade policy.